Team Pursuit speed skaters used to trade off leads like cyclists but the sport has been revolutionized by the US team’s invention of the “bump drafting” technique.
The idea of the former PM being driven by delusions of grandeur runs through Channel 4’s new documentary. Still, there is fun in seeing the world as it was
There’s a funny moment towards the end of The Tony Blair Story, Channel 4’s three-part documentary about the former prime minister, in which Blair is asked to introspect about his own personality. For the previous three hours or so we have enjoyed a series of talking heads picking over his premiership. Now he breaks the fourth wall and, with something like incredulity, says what’s the point of asking him to identify his own weaknesses when all he’ll give is a “politician’s answer”. Reminded he’s no longer a politician, Blair replies as honestly as at any point in the encounter: “You’re always a politician.”
It is one of the more satisfying exchanges in Michael Waldman’s series, which, depending on your view, is either a futile exercise in confirming one’s existing prejudices about Blair, or more than three hours of great telly. I’m inclined towards the latter, partly for the enjoyment it offers of being yanked back to the memory of all those old horribles. Nothing dates quicker than an out of office politician and it’s a particular nostalgia that’s triggered by footage of Robin Cook at John Smith’s funeral, or Max Hastings describing Blair’s henchmen as “absolutely ruthless bastards”, or Jack Straw being interviewed in a black velvet jacket like something from Death on the Nile.
Continue reading...Hard disks and magnetic tape have a limited lifespan, but glass storage developed by Microsoft could last millennia
Some cultures used stone, others used parchment. Some even, for a time, used floppy disks. Now scientists have come up with a new way to keep archived data safe that, they say, could endure for millennia: laser-writing in glass.
From personal photos that are kept for a lifetime to business documents, medical information, data for scientific research, national records and heritage data, there is no shortage of information that needs to be preserved for very long periods of time.
Continue reading...Economic uncertainty drives customers to snap up 22-carat gold bars and coins or sell off unworn jewellery
“With everything that’s going on in the economy and Donald Trump banging his chest against the world, we’re finding there’s no trust in the banks because we don’t know what’s going to happen,” Sandeep Kanda says.
Kanda is the owner of Sunny Jewellers, situated along a stretch of Leicester known as the Golden Mile, and is a beneficiary of consumers seeking alternative investments amid the uncertainty.
Continue reading...Xalet del Catllaràs contains elements of architect’s naturalistic style, expressed in works such as Park Güell and Sagrada Família
An elegant modernist building in the mountains north of Barcelona, originally constructed to house engineers establishing a nearby mine, has been confirmed as a work of Antoni Gaudí, Catalonia’s most celebrated and distinctive architect.
The Xalet del Catllaràs, about 80 miles from Barcelona in the county of Berguedà, was built in 1905 and commissioned by Eusebi Güell, Gaudí’s lifelong patron. Güell was the owner of a cement company with mines in the region and he needed somewhere to house the engineers, many of them British, who would help extract the coal for his factories.
Continue reading...As her nightmarish turn as orange-wigged child-catcher Aunt Gladys takes her to Oscars night, the actor talks about surviving ‘brutal’ Hollywood, the fury that almost drove her from the US – and still being homeless after the wildfires
It’s a full-time gig being an Oscar nominee, what with the luncheons and fittings, the interviews and photocalls. It’s a wonder anyone ever gets any actual work done. “I’m tired,” says Amy Madigan, grinning crookedly on a video call. It’s noon in Los Angeles but the living room curtains behind her are shut tight. I worry she may have just pulled an all-nighter.
The last time Madigan was nominated was in 1985. She played Gene Hackman’s brittle daughter in a blue-collar drama called Twice in a Lifetime (the title now feels apt). Awards season, she points out, was shorter and sweeter back then. “Now it’s a big unruly beast. ‘We want to speak to Amy!’ I’ve been doing this since November. Do you not think people are sick of talking about us and seeing our faces? Haven’t you people seen enough?”
Continue reading...US ambassador accused of interference after labelling inquiry into suspected illegal circumcisions ‘antisemitic’
A diplomatic row is escalating between Belgium and the US, with Donald Trump’s ambassador refusing to apologise for accusing his host country of antisemitism and reportedly threatening to bar a socialist politician from travelling to the US.
Bill White, a staunch ally of the president like many US ambassadors, on Monday demanded Belgium drop a “ridiculous” and “antisemitic” investigation into three Jewish men suspected of performing circumcisions without medical qualifications.
Continue reading...
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De vraag blijft hoe het nieuwe kabinet, dat volgende week aantreedt, aankijkt tegen de repatriëring van Nederlandse vermeende IS-strijders. Vooralsnog lijkt D66 de enige partij te zijn die ervoor openstaat.
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byb64 has added a photo to the pool:
Als er nu verkiezingen zouden worden gehouden, komt de PvdA in Amsterdam met 17,8 procent van de stemmen als grootste uit de bus, gevolgd door GroenLinks, met 16,2 procent. D66 komt uit op 15,4 procent. De drie partijen zitten dicht bij elkaar. Dat blijkt uit een nieuwe peiling van O&S, uitgevoerd in opdracht van Het Parool en AT5 in aanloop naar de gemeenteraadsverkiezingen van 18 maart. De peiling vond plaats tussen 27 januari en 9 februari.
Gezamenlijk komen PvdA, GroenLinks en D66, die nu samen een coalitie vormen, iets hoger uit dan bij de afgelopen gemeenteraadsverkiezingen in 2022. De PvdA blijft stabiel, maar D66 en GroenLinks kunnen volgens de peiling op meer stemmen rekenen dan de vorige keer.
Hij weet niet precies hoe het komt, maar Umberto (44), medewerker van de Milano Ice Skating Arena, heeft de hele week al het Wilhelmus in zijn hoofd. “Hmm, hmmm, hmmm, Duitsen bloed”, neuriet hij terwijl hij door het shorttrackstadion wandelt. “Wat een oorwurm. Hoe kom ik eigenlijk aan dat liedje? Van de radio?”
Umberto is niet de enige die er last van heeft: ook bij Valentina, die de pers welkom heet in de shorttrackarena, blijft het “catchy deuntje” al dagen hangen. “Ik ben er inmiddels wel een beetje klaar mee”, vertelt ze. “Wie heeft het geschreven, Ed Sheeran ofzo? Het is aanstekelijk, maar ik word er ook een beetje gek van. Je hoort het een paar keer en het zit direct in je hoofd.”
Als Valentina een blik werpt op het schema van vandaag, zucht ze diep. “Daar gaan we weer hoor.” Ze loopt weg en mompelt zonder dat ze het doorheeft nog maar eens over “den Koning van Hispanje.” (
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"You need to meet Orion. This has been developed by the Centre of Excellence at Galgotias University," Neha Singh, a professor of communications, told state-run broadcaster DD News this week in remarks that have since gone viral.
But social media users quickly identified the robot as the Unitree Go2, sold by China's Unitree Robotics for about $2,800 and widely used in research and education globally. The episode has drawn sharp criticism and has cast an uncomfortable spotlight on India's artificial intelligence ambitions.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.